Cabinet endorses point-based traffic penalty system

[2/12/2018 3:18:46 PM]

AMMONNEWS - The Cabinet on Monday approved a bylaw introducing a point-based traffic penalty system that entails the suspension of driving licenses for various terms targeting serious and repeated violations of traffic laws.

According to the new system, a drive license shall be suspended for 60 days at 16 points; 90 days at 20 points; 120 days at 24 points and 180 days if the driver's points exceed 28. Furthermore, at 16 points and below, the driver will be required to attend a rehabilitation course at the Traffic Institute and upon completion, 4 points will be removed from the record.

The Cabinet looked at a Ministry of Health-mandated study which indicated that traffic accidents are the 4th leading cause of death among the 5-44 year old age group, let alone the ensuing medical and financial burden.

Additionally, human errors cause almost 98.7 percent of traffic accidents. In 2016, according to study, 750 people died from traffic accidents in addition to 1,841 serious injuries and 15,594 minor injuries.

The daily cost of traffic accidents amounts to JOD884,000, ranking the Kingdom 36th in the world in terms of the highest countries in traffic-related death rate, the study reveals.